15 Yard Dumpster: Size, Capacity and Price
A 15 yard dumpster costs a median of $365. Most companies list between $320 and $425. It measures 16′ × 8′ × 4′ and holds about 4.5 pickup truck loads.
What a 15 yard is for
It suits a roof tear-off up to about 15 squares, or a large garage clearout. Most commonly rented for roof tear-off, garage or basement cleanout and small deck removal.
What it needs on site
A 15 yard is 16′ long, 8′ wide and 4′ high, and the truck needs roughly 26′ of clear length to drop and collect it, plus about 22′ of vertical clearance for the hoist arm. The container is the easy part. It is the truck's swing and the overhead room that decide whether a delivery happens, and branches and power drops turn back more trucks than a narrow gate does.
Sixteen feet takes most of a single-car driveway, and at four feet the walls are still low enough to throw a shingle bundle over without using the door.
Put it on the flattest, firmest ground you have. A loaded 15 yard is heavy enough to mark asphalt in warm weather, so lay plywood under the wheels and the rails if the driveway matters to you. How to protect a driveway.
Weight, and where the bill actually comes from
A 15 yard rental typically includes 2 tons, and everything above that is billed at a median of $76 a ton. The container will physically hold far more than the allowance covers, which is the trap: a 15 yard can be half empty by volume and still over on weight if it is full of shingles, tile, plaster or dirt.
It sits where roofing lives. A tear-off is dense enough that a bigger container would go over on weight before it filled, and light enough that a 10 yard runs out of room. For mixed renovation debris it works too, though the weight allowance starts to matter. How overage charges work.
Should you size up or down?
A 10 yard is 3 loads against 4.5, and runs about $20 less at the median. If you are confident the job is small, that is the saving. A 20 yard gives you 6 loads for about $54 more. That is almost always cheaper than a second haul, so if you are genuinely between the two, size up.
Jobs that usually take a 15 yard
- Garage Cleanout 1 to 2 tons
Each of those pages works out whether that particular job will go over the weight allowance, which is the part that decides what you actually pay.
What a 15 yard costs by state
| State | Median | Typical range | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $350 | $325 – $390 | 19 |
| Arizona | $325 | $295 – $375 | 23 |
| Arkansas | $350 | $300 – $375 | 25 |
| California | $355 | $325 – $399 | 21 |
| Colorado | $350 | $325 – $400 | 28 |
| Connecticut | $450 | $399 – $505 | 20 |
| Florida | $385 | $300 – $400 | 41 |
| Georgia | $340 | $305 – $365 | 33 |
| Illinois | $379 | $350 – $425 | 33 |
| Indiana | $373 | $325 – $400 | 36 |
| Louisiana | $393 | $325 – $465 | 24 |
| Maryland | $425 | $324 – $450 | 20 |
| Massachusetts | $538 | $495 – $625 | 30 |
| Michigan | $353 | $325 – $400 | 36 |
| Missouri | $350 | $300 – $375 | 27 |
| New York | $400 | $365 – $489 | 25 |
| North Carolina | $325 | $299 – $375 | 45 |
| Ohio | $350 | $325 – $400 | 66 |
| Oklahoma | $348 | $300 – $400 | 20 |
| Pennsylvania | $413 | $350 – $460 | 34 |
| South Carolina | $347 | $300 – $400 | 30 |
| Tennessee | $375 | $345 – $425 | 35 |
| Texas | $375 | $350 – $435 | 52 |
| Utah | $285 | $250 – $300 | 21 |
| Wisconsin | $375 | $345 – $450 | 20 |
States with at least 8 published prices at this size. All states.
Questions
- How much does a 15 yard dumpster cost?
- The median published price for a 15 yard dumpster is $365, with most companies between $320 and $425. Based on 952 companies' own published rates.
- What are the dimensions of a 15 yard dumpster?
- Roughly 16 feet long, 8 feet wide and 4 feet high. It needs about 26 feet of clearance to be delivered and about 23 feet of overhead room for the truck to tip it.
- What fits in a 15 yard dumpster?
- About 4.5 pickup truck loads, a roof tear-off up to about 15 squares, or a large garage clearout.
- How much weight can a 15 yard dumpster hold?
- Physically more than your allowance covers. Rentals typically include 2 tons, and overage is billed by the ton at a median of $76. Heavy material like concrete, dirt or shingles hits the limit long before the container looks full.